Ilunga

Like really brother ? You don't believe that what we define as good and bad are concomitants of each other ? Most of my life has been what I describe as very good times punctuated by some really bad times. Do you honestly believe we can live a long life were we don't experience these different emotions ? How about when loved ones die, apart from what I am going through now they have been the worst times of my life. However this is a part of life, we eat, sh!t, breathe and eventually die.

Thanks for posting this.

Totally Brother. So well said. An open mind is a good thing, coupled with the ability to think critically.

I think those questions are pretty provocative, with respect, bordering on the absurd. As for the first one, I used to tell mum that the Catholic allegories were based on the Egyptian allegories. Virgin Birth, Resurrection all the other common themes. All the biggies have them. As for the rest of your questions what do you think the rational, logical answers to them are ? I am guessing the same as me.

I don't know the story in Canada however I am well acquainted with both stolen generations here in Aus, I am a member of one. It was not just the Catholic church in involved, the State, government, holds blame as well. Unless you are a member of a stolen generation, you have no idea how it feels to be told about this. To feel you were unwanted. As I have stated things have changed, I actually did a ski hire for the school that is situated where the orphanage I came from was. The teachers were great people. They were nuns.

He will always be her son. That's the thing about being a parent, you will always love your child no matter what. I never fully realised how much I could love someone until my son was born.

As you know I basically questioned from the get go. And looking back I pushed to hard. I don't like authority figures especially ones that didn't allow me to question their ideas. However there were both good and bad priests and nuns. I certainly didn't deserve to get beaten however I was a smart arse, prodding away at them. I had a couple of great teachers, Sister Cabrini and Father Latucca were wonderful kind people who put up with my " truculence" Father Murray on the other hand was a hard assed Irish priest that had a better backswing than Bradman.

I am one of those stolen children you are talking about. It wasn't just religious people who frowned on young unmarried teenage girls having babies, it was the societal norm. And guess what times have changed, people have evolved. Ever heard of Primae Noctis ? That was nothing to do with religion, that was one nation, the English - king Edward - trying to breed out the Scots, for control/ political reasons. I am not trying to change your mind, I am having a discussion with you. I can see there really is no point as you have a closed mind on this subject.

World's oldest wooden structure discovered in Zambia https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-21/worlds-oldest-wooden-structure-discovered-in-zambia/102882164 476,000 years old well before Homosapiens.

I have loved this song since I first heard it as a kid

Dunno about ponder but I have read about this in regards to multiple universe theories. There is just so much knowledge out there, and such a small amount time to accumulate some.

I was indoctrinated from a very young age. How come I am not a believer ? My parents questioned their faith/ belief in a god.

Funny most believers I have known don't question others understanding of not believing. They accept the fact that not all people believe the same things.

So obviously you believe in God because you are blaming him for all the bad sh!t in the world.

I have read Free Will by Sam Harris. It's a good read. Fact of the matter this is another one of those eternal questions we have no answer for. As I stated, I take responsibility for my actions. I make decisions. I am accountable for the consequences of those decisions. Death, dunno about fearing it. They used to call me crazy Dave as an athlete. If people knew how much effort went into being " crazy" they wouldn't have called me crazy. ATM some days I would welcome it.

Don't you think those people will find any reason to do those things ? If we didn't have religion I believe those people would find other reasons to justify their actions. That's what all humans do, religious or not.

That is another great discussion we could have. What I do know is that I make decisions, that sometimes end in me making a mistake. I own those mistakes and try not to make the same mistake again. Since you brought up Epicurus it seems fitting that I mention the Lucretian Swerve....

From the Oxford Dictionary A disbelief or lack of belief in a God. So there is an element of disbelief in the meaning of the word athiest. That's a great post and you have touched upon points I have brought up. You say god is a myth that we can't let go of and accept there is more to learn. I can be only speak for the religious people I know well and they realise acquiring knowledge is an endless task, as my father taught me, Einstein's statement, the more I learn, the more I realise I don't know. My parents were learning until they day they died, in their late 80's. I think you are stereotyping religious people. Who or what created the elements that caused the big bang ? What was there before the big bang ? Can you really comprehend the idea of infinity ? Human beings cannot really grasp the idea of infinity. I know I can't. A God helps some people deal with that reality. As you have stated, we can't prove their is a god and we can't not prove it. Athiests use that argument about extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof. Well to a religious person it is an extraordinary claim that a god does not exist, so they require extraordinary proof. Indeed your posts are respectful and insightful.

I have still got to get my hands on the follow up trilogy you told me about. The Saga of the Shadows. Seriously Rupe you really should check out the Nights Dawn trilogy. Best Sci Fi series I have ever read. Over a 1000 pages each book.

He is an " old school " athiest. As he stated, he did years of background research to come to that conclusion. As PB has posted from his source the Encyclopaedia of Wars, only 6 percent, 121 out of the over 1,763 wars had religion as their primary cause. 11 of the biggest 100. A very small percentage. So have you researched this subject, can provide facts that religion is the cause of most wars. And what about all the good religious people have done/ do ? Or do you just focus on the bad ? My folks were very religious. They donated much of their money and more importantly their time to help others. So did the members of their congregation. Religion doesn't make people do anything. Certain people twist the meanings of the allegories in the various religious texts for their own ends. Most of the time this is to control others. Then people make their own choices. Take for instance LGBTI people. We just had a referendum about gay marriage a few years back. Nearly all the religious people I know voted yes, my very religious mother was going to vote yes however she died before it was held. The biggest group of people I know that voted no were bogans that weren't religious at all. I used to argue with them about. As I keep stating religious people are just like any other group of people, there are good to bad and everything in between amongst them.